Photo courtesy of Manchester United magazine

Wigan Athletic yesterday announced the signing of 21 year old full back/wing back Andy Kellett from Bolton Wanderers.

Kellett was born in Bolton and came through the Wanderers academy to make his first team debut as a substitute against Leicester City in April 2014. He again came off the bench in the next match against Sheffield Wednesday. In October Kellett joined League 2 club Plymouth Argyle on a one month loan, which was extended a further month.He was to make 12 appearances, scoring one goal .

Although Kellett was more likely expecting a return to Plymouth in the second half of the season he was to join Manchester United on loan in early February 2015. A Daily Telegraph  article tells how Bolton’s first team coach Garry Parker broke the news to Kellett of United’s interest in him.

“Sit down Andy, We’ve got some good news and some bad news. “You’re not going back to Plymouth,” was the bad news. After that body blow, Kellett asked to hear the good.“You’re going to Manchester United,” Parker said.

Kellett went on to make 10 appearances for United’s development squad before returning to Bolton.

In order to learn more about Kellett we reached out to Chris Mann of the Burnden Aces fan site http://www.burndenaces.co.uk (Twitter @BurndenAces ).

Here’s over to Chris:

The lasting memory of transfer deadline day from times gone by usually hindered around Harry Redknapp talking to reporters from his car, or crowds gathering at stadiums and training grounds with indescribable adult-themed objects.

A new trend seems to have been set, however, and that is ‘Transfer Deadline Day = Andy Kellett is on the move’.

Having spent the early part of last season on loan at Plymouth Argyle, Kellett had looked set to return to Home Park only to become one of the country’s biggest talking points when he sealed an 11th-hour switch to Manchester United back in February.

United were short of options at full-back, but the move baffled supporters of both clubs. As predicted, though, Kellett’s time at Old Trafford was consigned to the development squad that would eventually go on to win the Under-21 Premier League title.

Kellett signed on at Wanderers as a seven-year old and, having impressed at youth level, made his senior debut in April 2014 – making a total of three appearances before the end of the 2013/14 campaign.

Hopes were high for the hometown boy, but a change in management seemed to put the brakes on his progression and it quickly became obvious that he just wasn’t rated by Neil Lennon.

His big chance arrived in a game at Rotherham United in January, prior to his United move, but a shambolic performance from the entire team saw Kellett sacrificed after 51 minutes – at 3-0 down – and he hasn’t been anywhere near the first-team since.

Kellett was a popular figure amongst the Bolton fans, many of whom believe he should have been given more of an opportunity. But Lennon has granted chances to the likes of Zach Clough, Josh Vela and Tom Walker, while a group of other names are also on the verge of breaking through, so the manager has shown he will put his faith in youth if he deems them good enough.

It’s a shame to see him leave, but Kellett had entered the final year of his contract and wasn’t being considered for what has been a position lacking in cover. Lennon hasn’t made many mistakes in terms of player recruitment so far, so we’ll trust his judgement and wish Kellett the best of luck down the road.